Holocaust

Representation: N/A?
Trigger warnings: Death of parents, gun violence, blood depiction, antisemitism, World War Two, near-death experiences, fire
Note that I got this book and now I own it. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

7/10, so this is the first book of a seven-book series and initially I had no idea of what this book was going to be but other people have enjoyed this and seeing this classified as a war book I knew it was going to hit hard like a truck, and overall I did like the execution and how the author could do so much in not a lot of pages which is impressive. Where do I begin? It starts with the main character Felix and he lives in a Catholic orphanage with other orphans like him and some other orphaned characters however for some reason he believes that his parents are still out there somewhere and they will come back but other children come to that orphanage since their parents died somehow so that was an interesting plot point I guess. And he's Jewish and given the circumstances like the year 1942 it's just a horrible time to live in and it's even worse for him only due to his religion which was disheartening but all too real but at least I liked how every chapter started with the word Once hence the title. That's an intriguing stylistic choice I suppose. Only a few pages later he starts on his journey by first escaping from the orphanage most likely to find his parents, did I mention that I liked Felix as a character since at the start he tells many stories to hide the truth however as I move on this isn't the case. Partway through that he meets another character named Zelda who must've been a victim of an attack that happened recently in her neighbourhood since her house was burned down for some reason and soon enough they get along even though their character dynamic is not perfect I'm sure that choice made the book more realistic in a way. The ending is only ok since there was one action scene but the book was a difficult read and the final pages were just weaker than the rest. Wow. I will surely read the next six books in the series and they might be as good as the first. ( )

This is a good one for fans of Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It also made me think of that movie, Life is Beautiful. ( )

This book is based on the holocaust and the aftermath specifically for Felix who is a young Jewish boy living in an orphanage. Felix has a love for books and struggles when the Nazi's come and take the books he had access to. He ends up running away from the orphanage that he has been at for three years and helps a girl who's parents had been killed. This book gives a great perspective for kids on what life was like for young children during the Holocaust but would be better for older students rather than young ones as the author does not tip toe around the incidents that occured. ( )

As a teacher I am always trying to find wonderful books for my shelves. This is a whole series based around the Holocaust and its aftermath on people. I definitely recommended it to my students. Felix is a young Jewish boy living a hidden life in an orphanage. He believes his parents will be coming for him any day. He has been at the orphanage for three years. One day the Nazis’s visit the orphanage and find Jewish books which they take to the courtyard to burn. Felix is horrified that they would burn these books. His parents owned a book store. He decides he is going to have to find and save his parents and their books. He prays for help to God, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Pope and Hitler. This gives us an indication that he has no idea what is going on in the world. Later he adds in the name of his favorite author and removes Hitler’s name. He gets himself and others out of trouble by telling stories. I think it was Felix’s love of books that helped me connect to him. He runs away from the orphanage and rescues a young girl whose parents are killed. It seems to be his mission to help others as he tries to find his parents. This is a wonderful book highly recommended. Be advised that the author does not water down what the Nazis were like or the atrocities they inflicted on others. ( )